Category Archives: spinning

Plying And Picking

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All three bobbins of my Finn fiber are complete and I moved on to the plying stage!

Even with the fiber having been carded and the singles gone through the wheel once, I am still getting a lot of veg matter out of the fiber. My pants and black shirt were a little messy after my spinning session.

I did end up with a nice plump bobbin of a finished 3-ply. I will let this rest on the bobbin for a day or two and then I will give it a wash and whack to finish the process. I am predicting a nice heavy worsted to bulky finished yarn.

Happy Spinning!!

Two Fine Bobbins

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The spinning has been slow and warm by the fire. I finished the second two ounces of Finn fiber. The bobbins look very similar and I hope this means the yardage is similar.

This fiber is really lovely to spin with. As long as it plies out nicely, I think I will be procuring more Finn from 14 Hands Ranch. Admittedly, I still have the third ball of two ounces to spin. Spinning has been my calm in the year end storm.

Fiber Under The Tree

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There was a little fiber under the tree for me this year. I told my dad that I would spin anything from Three Waters Farm and he selected these lovely mixes.

Both bags are 4 ounces of Bluefaced Leicester top in the Winter Beats and Storm Cloud Over Flowers. I think the colors actually go nicely together. I may pull out the roving lay it out side by side and compare the colors. I may be able to rip up the fiber and plan some color sequencing.

For disclaimer, I’m not a trained spinner. I have basic mechanics to spin singles and ply yarn thanks to lessons from over a year ago. Everything else I do is pure experimentation based on years of watching and listening to podcasts and just making stuff up. A podcast once told me “If you are having fun, you are doing it right”. And that’s kind of my crafty mantra.

But I still have Finn on my wheel and a tub of fiber in the basement. This might take a minute to get on my wheel. Happy Spinning!!

Short Days and Warm Fires

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We are past the winter solstice and the days can only get longer now. The holiday season brought some SUPER frigid temperatures and I pulled my wheel close to the fire. This is the Finn I started before Christmas.

I have the second ounce on the wheel and the first ounce resting on its bobbin. This fiber is carded very well and spins wonderfully. I started and stopped several times, but I got there eventually.

I’m still thinking I will put each ounce on its own bobbing and 3-ply the lot. I haven’t done 3-ply a ton so I’m intrigued on how it will turn out. I still have dreams of a stripped bulky handspun sweater in my handspun…..

Happy Spinning!!

FO Friday: Pink Merino Sparkly 2-ply

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My tiny 85 gram batt of shedding merino and sparkle is finally complete and done leaving a trail of fluff in my house! I have a finished Pink Merino Sparkle 2-ply to show for it!

I ended up with an 84 gram skein that made 88 yards. So I lost very little of the original batt despite the fluffy shedding. This skeins is a little inconsistant. Some parts were worsted at 9 wraps per inch and other sections were closer to 11 wraps per inch which is more DK weight.

Still, I’m happy with the skein. I don’t know what I will make with it as it sheds. But for now it will join the precious handspun stash. Now its time to make Christmas cookies!!! Bring on Christmas break 🙂

Happy Spinning!!

Spinning Finn

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I finished the incredibly sparkly and very messy Pink Merino Sparkle 2-ply. I’ll have FO pics to share tomorrow! So I decided to keep my wheel cozy and warm but starting the Finn roving I got at Fiber Flurry.

I have three little one ounce nests. I plan to spin each on its own bobbin and then make a 2-ply if the fibers spins thick or a 3-ply if they spin thin. This is my first time working with Finn so I am interested to see how it turns out with my technique level.

This color would fit nice with some of my first handspun in natural colors. I am still dreaming of a big thick cozy handspun sweater. But we shall see!! Christmas is almost here so I have many many things to do!

Happy Spinning!!

Spinning From The Flurry

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It’s been about one month since I touched my wheel. I decided to get back into the flow over the weekend. I grabbed the small 2 oz custom batt I bought at Fiber Flurry 2022.

This bat is VERY fluffy and VERY sparkly. It sheds more than my daycare providers German Shepherd in the spring. There are only 2 ounces of this fiber so I will just spin the whole thing onto one bobbin and then 2-ply back on itself.

I am a little out of practice so I reasoned that going back to my “default” spin would be a nice warm up to get my fingers back into the groove. Happy Spinning!!

Fiber From The Flurry

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Since I can’t really knit right now, I decided to organize my Fiber Flurry purchases. Turns out, I bough all fiber!

On top, there is some merino and assorted fiber batt from HLA Fiber Mill. It’s just over 2 ounces and will make a cute skein in PB’s color scheme.

On the bottom left is 4.7 ounces of alpaca and firestar roving. IT’S SO SUPER SOFT! This was leftover It’s from Grey Meadows Alpaca farm and is the leftovers from their mill runs. I got a chance to chat with the owner and he was super fun.

Lastly, on the bottom right is a new to me sheep breed – Finn Sheep. I grabbed three ounces of the natural color dark brown. I will need to pull out my fiber/fleece source book in order to learn more about the breed. But these sheep are from the 14 Hand Ranch.

I think either the Finn or the pink batt will be the first on my wheel once my hand is back to normal! Happy Spinning!!

Spinning Lamb Again

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My wheel has been a little quite lately. I decided to pull out a the fiber and partial bobbin of lamb I started way back when.

This custom blend is a longwool mix. It’s very different from the merino and other fibers I have been spinning. I’m not sure I am enjoying it, to be honest. I am about halfway through the fiber. I am really having a hard time mustering the desire to spin this. There is nothing wrong with it and I am making successful singles. It just feels like a slog.

I may put this back in timeout and pull out some different fiber that brings me joy?

FO Friday: Cotton Candy Yarn

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Whelp, I have another finished skein! This is a VERY energetic 3-ply skein that my 4 year old has proclaimed BEAUTIFUL!

This calculated out to be an aran to bulky weight skein. I got 84 yards in a 78 gram skein. After plying and washing, the yarn is still twisting back on itself. Which means I overplied it. I can run this skein back through my wheel in the opposite direction to let some that relax. But for now, I’m done touching cotton candy and I need to spin something else.

This fiber is great and it was cool for a mystery grab bag, but it’s not my jam. So I feel grateful for the learning experience and I’m on to the next thing!

Happy Spinning!!